Local man faces more charges after getting 40-year conviction

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A Nevada County man who was sentenced earlier this year to 38 years and eight months in state prison, in a case where he pointed a gun at a Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputy before trying to flee, has been returned to local custody to face charges of assault with a deadly weapon in a related case.

Brice Peeler was convicted in May of assault with a firearm, felony evasion and being a felon in possession of a firearm for a September 2012 arrest that stemmed from an earlier reported assault with a gun in Penn Valley.

Law enforcement had been on the lookout for Peeler, who had been described as “armed and dangerous” after an incident in which a Penn Valley man was accosted by Peeler, who appeared to be high on methamphetamine and who pulled a gun.

Peeler allegedly pointed the gun at the man’s head, then fled in a vehicle.

The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office was called in to assist and subsequently located him in a vehicle. Several undercover units began to tail him, but Peeler realized he was being followed and a high-speed chase ensued.

At the end of the pursuit, Peeler exited his car holding a loaded 9-millimeter semi-automatic handgun, ran past a deputy and pointed the handgun at his head.

He then jumped a fence and dumped the handgun in a bush.

He eventually was apprehended after he forced his way into an adjacent house.

After his conviction in May, Peeler was transported back to Nevada County in mid-June for the criminal complaint filed for the Penn Valley assault.

Nevada County Assistant District Attorney Anna Ferguson said Peeler is facing one count of assault with a deadly weapon, with special allegations of personal use of a firearm, a prior prison sentences.

This would be the third of three strikes and he is not eligible for probation, Ferguson said.

On June 26, Peeler pleaded not guilty in Nevada County Superior Court and is set to return for a felony conference July 24.